1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to disposable, manually operable, apparatus for processing individual rolls of 35 mm instant or self-developing type transparency film.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The present invention relates to apparatus for use by the amateur photographer in the processing of a photographically exposed roll of 35 mm instant or self-developing type transparency film and, more particularly, to such apparatus which is manually operable, compact and constructed from inexpensive materials such that it may be disposed of after its original processing materials have been depleted.
Compact film processors which are specifically constructed for use by the amateur photographer are well known. One example of such a processor is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,153,376. This processor, which is disclosed as being made of a lightweight plastic and may be made disposable, includes an arrangement wherein an exposed sheet of photosensitive material and an image-receiving sheet are simultaneousely manually withdrawn from their respective rollers within the processor, moved through a bath of developing fluid, and are then superposed as they are moved to the exterior of the processor via a film opening in a wall of the processor. After the latent image in the film has diffused to the image-receiving sheet and been chemically reduced so as to produce a visible image, the resulting photographic prints are stripped from the film thereby leaving the operator with the resultant problem of what to do with the film (photosensitive sheet) and any residue (which may be toxic) of the development process. Several embodiments of the processor are described including one wherein a container of developing liquid is punctured in response to the processor's loading door being moved into a closed position. However, all of the described embodiments contain the above-described problem of what to do with the "garbage" which is left in the user's hand after the film has been processed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,260,186 discloses a manually operable, compact, handheld film processor which includes a first chamber for receiving a film cassette containing a strip of exposed film, a second chamber containing a take-up reel to which the leader of the film is to be attached, and a third chamber, located intermediate the first and second chambers, into which a processing paste is to be squeezed for subsequent application to the emulsion side of the film. The exposed film is processed by rotating the take-up reel via a crank while a tube of processing paste is being squeezed so as to move its contents into the third chamber and out of a slit therein where it is applied to the film as the latter is moved past the slit. This type of film processor requires more than a minimum amount of dexterity on the part of the operator in order to simultaneousely control the speed of movement of the film and the rate at which the developing paste is to be injected into the processor. Further, after the film has been removed from the processor, it still has to be washed and hung up to dry.
Still other types of compact film processors for the amateur photographer are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,039,100 and 4,307,955. While these processors solve many of the problems of the earlier described film processors, they do present a cost problem vis-a-vis one which is specifically constructed to be disposed of after its processing materials have been used.